Discussion questions (answer one). Be sure to relate your answer to the texts, either the passages from the Bible or Augustine’s letters.
In Matthew 7 Jesus says: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”, and “do not judge or you will be judged.” This is good life advice, but what can it possibly mean for politics? Isn’t politics all about one judgement or another?
In Romans 13, Saint Paul calls on all Christians to be subject to the governing authorities and obey the laws knowing that government is ordained by God. So what does that mean for tyranny — should Christians submit to that “governing authority,” too? Or what if there is a civil war: should Christians take a side, or should they wait to see which wide wins, and then submit to that side?
Saint Augustine offers a whole new way to understand patriotism: by loving one’s country as a secondary thing to the Kingdom of God. How exactly do we do that? What kind of patriotism do we have when our country is in second place to the Kingdom of God? Or do they mix together somehow?
